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OriolesRedskins28 wrote:Really? Everyone is pretty sure that Schoop will not be able to play short? Maybe you should read the scouting report on THIS website on Schoop done by Don Olsen. Here's an excerpt, "More than enough arm for the left side of the infield, and is a relatively safe bet to stick at either shortstop or third base".

While Don's view may have changed since then and even in that report he does mention that Schoop may have to move off SS depending on how he fills out, that would still go against the "Everyone is pretty sure that Schoop will not be able to play short" statement.

The O's also have JJ Hardy at SS and Robert Andino who can handle SS so I would definitely say they have some depth at the position. Yet again, I'm not saying that this should preclude them from drafting a SS but if a SS like Marrero is considered the best player available but the gap between him and the next best player available on the Orioles' radar isn't that large then they should go with the player that better fits their organizational needs. Same thing goes with Catcher and Zunino, unless Zunino were viewed by the O's as much more valuable than their next viable option then I would pass on him. Again this taking all things in to consideration (skills, positional value, intangibles etc.) and is all hypothetical.

I would imagine that EVERY professional baseball organization takes a look at their own organizational depth chart before they make their first round draft selection. Everyone does their due diligence. Drafting the best available player is always the way to go, but if there isn't a large gap between two players and one fits the organization's needs better than the other, the player with the better fit is the way to go.

That also says a "relatively safe bet to stick at SS OR 3rd." There is a huge gap between being able to stick at SS and being able to stick at 3rd. I think it's slightly misleading to lump them together, when realistically, a player could have gold glove potential at 3rd but could be well below average at SS. Machado is much better at short and many scouts aren't sure about his ability to stay at short longterm. What does that say about the chances that Schoop can?

And why would Hardy factor into the decision? He's not likely to be on the team by the time a SS drafted this year will be ready to make his debut.

I think organizational depth (not major league depth) plays a role in overall draft strategy, but not in a top 5 pick. You look for a superstar or perennial all-star when you're drafting that high, and if the scouts and scouting director see any difference in overall value between two players, regardless of position, you take the higher rated player.

Would Marrero be guaranteed to stick at SS and Zunino at C? NO. Because NO prospect is guaranteed to stick at a position. The point is a lot of scouts have Machado sticking at SS and not "Everyone is pretty sure Schoop will not be able to play short".

Obviously the Orioles had and still have Machado sticking as SS, otherwise they wouldn't have drafted him as high as they did... Machado is a top 5 MLB prospect, I would disagree vehemently with the decision to draft a SS unless that SS is way better than the next best available player. One of them would be forced to move off the position, greatly decreasing their value.

The plan is for every prospect to succeed, you don't anticipate the failure in development of Machado or Schoop. Yes having excess talent at a postition is an awesome problem to have, but why do that if when you could have a player of similar total value at a more appropriate position? You want all of your top prospects to succeed so if you do anticipate that then you would be anticipating moving one of your top SS prospects (Machado or Marrero) off of the position which would be destroying their value, making that draft choice a foolish one.

Yes NOTHING is a sure thing, which includes Marrero and Zunino. Machado has already made it to AA, has played defense at the professional level, and has taken instruction from the Oriole's coaches. He's a helluva lot closer to being a sure thing than Marrero or any draft prospect would be.

Again you don't put all of your eggs in one basket unless that prospect is way better than the other options.

At this point, I think Marrero and Zunino have shown they can stick at their positions. That's part of the reason that they're the two top college positional prospects. It's certainly not because of the bat in Marrero's case. He's definitely a safer bet to stick at SS than Machado.

CSPitt17130 wrote:At this point, I think Marrero and Zunino have shown they can stick at their positions. That's part of the reason that they're the two top college positional prospects. It's certainly not because of the bat in Marrero's case. He's definitely a safer bet to stick at SS than Machado.

I'm not a scout so what I say about these players isn't my opinion. It's the opinion of scouts and writers from BA and guys like Keith Law. None of them seems to have any doubt that those two stick at their positions in the big league. They all also share the opinion that you should take the best player available.